Arguing about a series in Valencian
Two views of one series in Valencian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «He començat la sèrie que m'has recomanat.» — I have started the series you recommended to me.; «I què t'ha semblat?» — And how did you find it? The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two views of one series. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- He començat la sèrie que m'has recomanat.I have started the series you recommended to me.
- I què t'ha semblat?And how did you find it?
- Al principi em va semblar lent, però al capdavall m'ha agradat.At first it seemed slow to me, but in the end I liked it.
- Al meu parer, la primera temporada és la millor.In my opinion, the first season is the best.
- Jo crec que la segona és millor, però és discutible.I think the second is better, but it is debatable.
- En part estic d'acord, però el final no m'ha convençut.I partly agree, but the finale did not convince me.
Lines one by one
| Valencian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| He començat la sèrie que m'has recomanat. | — | I have started the series you recommended to me. |
| I què t'ha semblat? | — | And how did you find it? |
| Al principi em va semblar lent, però al capdavall m'ha agradat. | — | At first it seemed slow to me, but in the end I liked it. |
| Al meu parer, la primera temporada és la millor. | — | In my opinion, the first season is the best. |
| Jo crec que la segona és millor, però és discutible. | — | I think the second is better, but it is debatable. |
| En part estic d'acord, però el final no m'ha convençut. | — | I partly agree, but the finale did not convince me. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Valencian in this situation?
“He començat la sèrie que m'has recomanat.” — I have started the series you recommended to me.. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.